Never lose your AirPods again — Apple bringing Find My support with iOS 15

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Here's how AirPods will work with Find My when iOS 15 arrives in the fall

Refurbished AirPods Pro
(Image credit: Future)

The Apple AirPods Pro sit near the top of our best wireless earbuds list for good reason. The compact design, excellent active noise cancellation and comfort make for an overall solid package. Like with any set of earbuds, the small form factor makes loss and misplacement a common occurrence. With iOS 15, Apple may be looking to solve that issue once and for all.

Apple announced Find My support for AirPods back in June at its developer conference. And now that the iOS 15 beta is out, 9to5Mac has spotted the code that makes it possible. As with Apple's AirTag key finder, iOS 15 is using Bluetooth to help locate the precise location of misplaced AirPods. Apple's earbuds will also link to a user's Apple ID. 

According to 9to5Mac, this feature will also be available on the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. Considering the size and expense of the latter set of cans, we do hope most people don't misplace those on the subway or library. For early adopters, Find My capabilities and Precision Finding will not be compatible with first and second generation AirPods.

Interestingly, the iOS 15 internal code shows that AirPods will continue to ping the owner with location data, even if the earbuds are connected to another device.

Unfortunately, AirPods will not have activation lock like on iPhone and iPad. This means a potential thief could reset someone's AirPods with a few steps. 

With this feature coming to the rumored Apple AirPods 3 or Apple AirPods Pro 2, along with greatly improved sound quality, there's a good chance that both unannounced products could challenge the best earbuds. At the moment, the Jabra Elite Active 75t sit atop our roundup.

Right now, the Find My feature for AirPods is not present in the current beta firmware build. But if 9to5Mac has already spotted the code, then it should be coming soon. The full public version of iOS 15 should hit iPhones and iPads this fall, near the launch of iPhone 13.

Imad Khan
Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.